Julian Schnabel For Esmé – with Love and Squalor Past Apr 9 – May 21, 2022 Los Angeles Exhibition Details:Julian SchnabelFor Esmé – with Love and SqualorApr 9 – May 21, 2022Gallery:1201 South La Brea AvenueLos AngelesPress:Press ReleaseConnect: (opens in a new window) @pacegalleryAbove: Installation view, Julian Schnabel: For Esmé — with Love and Squalor, Pace Gallery, Los Angeles, Apr 9 – May 21, 2022 © Julian Schnabel Pace Gallery is pleased to present the inaugural exhibition of its new West Coast flagship in Los Angeles, For Esmé – with Love and Squalor, featuring 13 new velvet paintings and a large-scale bronze sculpture by the artist Julian Schnabel. Since the late 1970s, Schnabel’s experimental practice and use of unconventional materials has invented a new kind of painting. In 1990, at the time of the acquisition of Schnabel’s four paintings Los Patos del Buen Retiro for the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, then director María de Corral wrote, “...what really interests me is that nothing gives the impression of being fixed or closed off. Instead, all of the elements seem to be in a permanent state of flux and one’s perception of them is so arbitrary that all interpretations end up being equally valid.”The title of the artist’s exhibition at Pace in Los Angeles is derived from J.D. Salinger’s short story “For Esmé – with Love and Squalor,” which Schnabel also named his four-month-old daughter. Set in Devon, England in 1944, the story recounts the chance meeting of an American soldier, who is going off to war, and a 13-year-old girl named Esmé. In the second part of the story, written in the third person, the soldier, Sergeant X, is experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a military hospital. After receiving a package from Esmé containing her father’s watch—a Royal Air Force flyer who died in the war— Sergeant X reconsiders his decision to commit suicide. Esmé’s generosity of spirit, her gift as promised to Sergeant X in exchange for a story with lots of love and squalor, is the kind of hope needed in times of war and unrest. Schnabel’s exhibition manifests the need for optimism in the face of violence and despair.Schnabel’s cast silicon bronze sculpture ESMÉ (2020) is the result of reconstituting different sculptures, which is a process he began 40 years ago. Here, Schnabel reconfigures and recasts parts of previous forms of other sculptures, a large-scale work that accumulatively functions like a memory of a crucifixion. It speaks to Goya’s etchings The Disasters of War, body parts hanging on trees, a contemplation of human suffering. It will be presented in the gallery’s enclosed courtyard, facing the velvet paintings inside—somber yet colorful, gossamer yet cathartic, ultimately optimistic, too. The paintings and the sculpture reflect on a moment of turmoil and at the same time ascension. Read More Exhibition FilmGuillermo del Toro Visits Julian Schnabel's Los Angeles ExhibitionOur latest film centers on our inaugural Pace Los Angeles exhibition For Esmé – with Love and Squalor, featuring work by Julian Schnabel. The film brings together Schnabel and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who discuss the artist's inspiration, process, and new works in the show, including 13 velvet paintings and the cast silicon bronze sculpture ESMÉ. Featured Works Julian Schnabel, Unarmed Road of Flight, 2022, Oil, spray paint, molding paste on velvet, 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Learn More Close modal Julian Schnabel Unarmed Road of Flight 2022 Oil, spray paint, molding paste on velvet 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Julian Schnabel, San Diego Serenade (for Tom Waits), 2022, Oil, spray paint, molding paste on velvet, 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Learn More Close modal Julian Schnabel San Diego Serenade (for Tom Waits) 2022 Oil, spray paint, molding paste on velvet 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Julian Schnabel, Pinocchio’s Last Ride, 2022, Oil, spray paint, molding paste on velvet, 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Learn More Close modal Julian Schnabel Pinocchio’s Last Ride 2022 Oil, spray paint, molding paste on velvet 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Julian Schnabel, Painting for Fred Sandback, 2022, Oil, spray paint, molding paste, black gesso on velvet, 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Learn More Close modal Julian Schnabel Painting for Fred Sandback 2022 Oil, spray paint, molding paste, black gesso on velvet 84" × 66" × 1-1/2" (213.4 cm × 167.6 cm × 3.8 cm) Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Installation Views 1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 Carousel slide 0 Carousel slide 1 Carousel slide 2 Carousel slide 3 Carousel slide 4 Carousel slide 5 Carousel slide 6 Carousel slide 7 Carousel slide 8 Carousel slide 9 About the ArtistJulian Schnabel is known for his multidisciplinary body of work that extends beyond painting to include sculpture, film, architecture, and design. His use of preexisting materials not traditionally used in artmaking, varied painting surfaces, and unconventional modes of construction were pivotal in the reemergence of painting in the United States, positioning him as a vanguard among artists of his generation.Learn More Journal View All Films Guillermo del Toro Visits Julian Schnabel's Los Angeles Exhibition May 16, 2022 Museum Exhibitions Julian Schnabel at CAC Málaga Apr 06, 2022 Museum Exhibitions Julian Schnabel at the Brant Foundation Sep 10, 2021 Artist Projects Experience Julian Schnabel's Exhibition in VR Mar 03, 2021 Overview Exhibition Film Featured Works Installation Views About the Artist Journal